TODAY’S HEADLINES IN BRIEF: POSSIBLE EURO CRASH. ITALIAN BANKS DOWNGRADE. OIL COULD DOUBLE IN PRICE. INTEREST RATES LOW FOR 2 MORE YEARS AND THE QUEEN’S KNICKERS UP FOR SALE
…. LATEST FINANCIAL CRISIS NEWS ….
INDEPENDENT
WORLD BRACES ITSELF FOR GREEK EURO EXIT
By David Chu & Daniel Howden
Markets plunge as coalition talks fail and policymakers admit Athens may quit single currency
European policymakers warned that Greece's aid payments would be cut off unless Athens quickly produced an administration prepared to deliver far-reaching economic reforms and budget cuts. Without those funds from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund, Greece could run out of cash to meet its national debt interest payments as early as next month. The country would then have no option but to default. Most analysts expect that a default would be a prelude to Greek exit from the single currency altogether.
FINANCIAL TIMES
FAITH FADES IN EUROZONE FIREWALL
By Robin Wigglesworth in London and Miles Johnson in Madrid
Fears that the eurozone’s firewall will prove insufficient to shield Spain and other embattled countries against the effects of a possible disorderly Greek exit from the euro, hit European markets on Monday. Spanish and Italian 10-year borrowing costs shot up to their highest levels this year and European stock markets suffered their biggest one-day drop in three weeks.
WWW.BBC.CO.UK
ITALIAN BANKS HAVE CREDIT RATINGS CUT BY MOODY'S
Ratings agency Moody's has cut the credit ratings on 26 Italian banks, including Italy's largest lenders Unicredit and Intesa Sanpaolo. Italy's economy is contracting while the government also tries to reform the nation's public sector. The agency said the banks were increasingly vulnerable to Italy's recession and the effects of government austerity measures. Ten banks were cut from investment grade to so-called junk status.
DAILY TELEGRAPH
OIL PRICES TO DOUBLE BY 2022, IMF PAPER WARNS
By Angela Monaghan
Oil prices could double over the next decade with sweeping implications for the global economy, according to a report commissioned by the International Monetary Fund. "Our prediction of small further increases in world oil production comes at the expense of a near doubling, permanently, of real oil prices over the coming decade," the report's authors concluded. "This is uncharted territory for the world economy, which has never experienced such prices for more than a few months."
DAILY EXPRESS
INTEREST RATES ‘STAY AT RECORD LOW UNTIL 2014’
By Sarah O’Grady
Homebuyers can expect interest rates to stay at their record low until the end of next year and maybe even into 2014, the Bank of England is expected to suggest tomorrow. Governor Sir Mervyn King will signal that the base rate will not rise from its current level of 0.5 per cent until late 2013 at the earliest as the UK’s economic growth fails to bloom.
…. THE REST OF THE NEWS ….
FINANCIAL TIMES
SCOTS PUSH FOR 50P MINIMUM ALCOHOL PRICE
By Louise Lucas, Jennifer Thompson and Kiran Stacey
In a bid to quash problem drinking, Scotland is forging ahead with legislation on the minimum pricing for alcohol, setting the unit price at 50p – which would more than double the cost of some ciders and add £4 to the price of a bottle of Tesco whisky. The move is slowly gaining global traction as more and more countries battle the social and financial costs of drink-related crime and disease.
GUARDIAN
FULL STATE PENSION FOR CARERS AND PARENTS WHO STAY AT HOME
By Damien Pearse
Women are 'major winners' in reformed system at expense of wealthier workers, increasing pension by average of £40 a week. Mothers and carers who choose to stay at home instead of going out to work will receive a full state pension for the first time under an overhaul of the UK's retirement system.
CITY AM.
QUEEN OF WALL STREET QUITS AS JP MORGAN CLEARS THE DECKS
By Juliet Samuel
JP Morgan cleared out the entire senior team in its chief investment office last night after Ina Drew, one of Wall Street’s most powerful women, quit the bank over $2bn in losses. According to an internal memo seen by City A.M., Achilles Macris, who led the trading desk that placed the bank’s disastrous hedges, will “transition his CIO responsibilities” – meaning he will be effectively removed from day-to-day responsibilities, although it is not clear if he will immediately quit the bank.
THE SCOTSMAN
THOMAS COOK SHARES PLUNGE AFTER IT WARNS OF COLLAPSE IF SALE VOTE IS LOST
By Erikka Askeland
Shares in beleaguered travel company Thomas Cook slumped dramatically yesterday after it warned shareholders that failure to back its disposal plans would risk its collapse. In a report sent to shareholders over the weekend, Frank Meysman, the chairman of Thomas Cook, set out the difficult position the group faces with its lenders if shareholders did not vote to support its proposals to sell off part of its aircraft fleet and the disposal of five Spanish hotels.
THE SUN
E.ON TO FREEZE
Energy giant E.ON yesterday promised to freeze gas and electricity bills for five million customers for the entire year. Just days after BRITISH GAS warned of soaring costs, the German-owned former FA Cup sponsor said it wanted to show it “puts customers first”. E.ON UK chief Tony Cocker acknowledged that wholesale prices were rising .But he said: “As a company we believe in acting fairly.
DAILY MAIL
60-YEAR PROPERTY BOOM: HOUSE PRICES ' RISEN MORE THAN 100 TIMES' SINCE CORONATION
Today's average house price is 105 times higher than it was when the Queen was coronated in 1952 - making it seem as if we could all afford palaces now in comparison. Climbing onto the property ladder required just £1,520 that year. And in the Silver Jubilee in 1977, the average price was still only £9,737 - today's £160,000 average is 16 times higher than that. At a time when the nation is gearing up for a weekend of street parties and celebration, research from Hamptons International also found that the average price of a home in London has risen 134-fold since 1952 and 21-fold since 1977. In 1952, the average price of a London home was £2,650, and in 1977 it had risen to £16,493, compared with the average price of £354,300 today.
…. AND FINALLY ….
DAILY TELEGRAPH
QUEEN'S KNICKERS' FOR SALE ON EBAY
By Hannah Furness
The undergarment, which has already attracted bids of more than £3,000, is embroidered with the letter E – presumably for “Elizabeth” – and a picture of a crown. They are purportedly being sold by the estate of Baron Joseph "Sepy" de Bicske Dobronyi, described as an aristocrat, art collector, traveller and Playboy. It is alleged the bloomer-style knickers, which have not been confirmed as authentic by any official sources, were left on a private aeroplane during the Queen’s visit to Chile in 1968.
